Steinbrenner's death casts pall over All-Star festivities

Baseball Betting Lines

07/13/2010 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - If there was ever a baseball story that could steal the spotlight from the All-Star Game, this was it.

George Steinbrenner passed away early Tuesday morning following a massive heart attack in his Tampa home. The longtime Yankees owner had reportedly been in failing health for years, and was rarely seen in public of late.

Whatever you may think of Steinbrenner, this much I know: there will never be another owner like him. The Daniel Snyders, Mark Cubans and Dan Gilberts of the world can try, but they are not and never will be George Steinbrenner.

The quote from his initial press conference in 1973, when he took over the franchise in 1973, still resonates, albeit ironically. Steinbrenner said he would not be involved in the day-to-day operations of the team, a statement that was almost as off-the-mark as his insistence that he was dead-set against free agency, that it would ruin the game.

Known as "The Boss," Steinbrenner helped change baseball. He was at the forefront in the infancy of free agency, luring Jim "Catfish" Hunter to the Bronx prior to the 1975 season and Reggie Jackson two years later. Other early big signings were Goose Gossage in 1978 and Dave Winfield before the 1981 campaign.

With Steinbrenner at the helm, the Yankees won seven World Series titles and 11 American League pennants. The club went to the World Series in 1976, just his fourth season of ownership, and captured the first of two straight titles the following year.

Steinbrenner was the owner that you loved to hate, unless he owned your team, of course. He transcended the sport. How many owners of professional sports teams have hosted Saturday Night Live, or had their likenesses portrayed on Seinfeld?

What made him so great was that he seemed to have the ability to laugh at himself. He knew he was a character, and played it up to the fullest.

Steinbrenner had his faults. Was he short-tempered at times? Yes. Ask Dave Winfield, or "Mr. May," as he was once referred to by Steinbrenner. Or the numerous managers he fired How about the time he called Hideki Irabu a fat toad? Or his fistfight with a Dodgers fan in the elevator during the 1981 World Series?

His outbursts were legendary. The whole Billy Martin saga should be a broadway play. There wasn't anyone who at one time or another did not have a run-in with the Boss. Martin, Thurman Munson, Reggie Jackson, Don Mattingly, Yogi Berra, Joe DiMaggio, Joe Torre and even Derek Jeter have all at one time drawn the ire of Big Stein.

He hired and fired 12 managers, including Billy Martin five times, from 1974 until Torre's reign began in 1996.

But through it all, the thing he cared about the most was winning. One of his most famous quotes was, "Winning is the most important thing in my life, after breathing. Breathing first, winning next."

A lot of Steinbrenner's charitable work was overshadowed by his larger-than- life persona. Among his many philanthropic contributions was the Silver Shield Foundation, established to provide scholarships and other educational support to the children and spouses of police officers, firefighters and state troopers killed in the line of duty.

As the son of a New York City cop, I can't begin to tell you how important and meaningful something like that is.

It is funny, through a lot of my childhood George Steinbrenner was hated by Yankee fans. Yankee Stadium actually erupted in cheers when he banned from baseball for the second time in July of 1990.

Things changed once he came back nearly three years later. He softened as he got older, and defied the odds to become beloved. One of my favorite Yankee Stadium memories was Opening Day in 2004 when he was being interviewed on the field, the fans serenaded him with chants of "Thank you, George" and "We love you, George." The accolades brought The Boss to tears.

Such adulation for an owner is unlikely to happen again in the Bronx. There will never be another George Steinbrenner.

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MySportsbook.com Favors Fighting Irish to win College Football betting odds

According to odds makers at MySportsbook.com, on January 8, the Fighting Irish faithful may be toasting their 14th national title in Arizona – Notre Dame’s first national championship in close to 20 years.

Although MySportsbook.com has listed Notre Dame as the 5-1 favorite to win thecollege football College Football betting, fans in Columbus do not need to cancel their tickets to Glendale just yet.  The Ohio State Buckeyes, listed right behind the Irish at 7-1, are also heavy favorites to win college football’s most coveted prize, while West Virginia, USC and the 2007 National Champion Texas Longhorns - all listed at 8-1 – are strong contenders as well.

MySportsbook.com has also posted gambling odds on the conference championships for the ACC, Big 12 and SEC.  In the ACC – it could be anyone’s title, particularly for the two schools from the Sunshine State.  Florida State and Miami, both listed at 2-1, are favored to win the ACC Championship Game odds, with the ‘Noles hoping to finish in the nation’s top 10 for the first time in five years, and the ‘Canes looking to avenge their 10-7 loss against FSU in last year’s ACC Championship betting.

Moving west to the Big 12, MySportsbook.com has betting lines listing Texas as 7-5 favorites to repeat as conference champions, even though the Longhorns lost their national championship-winning quarterback Vince Young to the NFL.  In the south, the Auburn Tigers – led by Heisman-hopeful senior running back Kenny Irons – have been given the best odds to win the SEC Championship odds at 5-2.

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ODDS TO WIN THE BCS NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP

Notre Dame
Ohio State
West Virginia
Texas
USC
Florida
California
Auburn
Oklahoma
Iowa
Louisville
Florida State
Michigan
Miami (FL)
LSU
Penn State
Virginia Tech
Nebraska
Tennessee
Georgia
Arizona State
Oregon
Clemson
Texas A&M
Texas Tech
Alabama
Arkansas
Boston College
Michigan State
Maryland
South Carolina
Colorado
Purdue
Georgia Tech
TCU
UCLA
Arizona
Pittsburgh
Iowa State
Wisconsin
North Carolina State
Virginia
North Carolina
Fresno State
Hawaii
Northwestern
BYU
Oregon State
UNLV
Field (Any Other Team)
5-1
7-1
8-1
8-1
8-1
12-1
15-1
15-1
18-1
20-1
20-1
20-1
20-1
20-1
25-1
40-1
40-1
50-1
60-1
60-1
60-1
70-1
70-1
100-1
100-1
100-1
100-1
100-1
150-1
200-1
200-1
200-1
200-1
200-1
250-1
250-1
300-1
300-1
300-1
300-1
300-1
300-1
400-1
500-1
500-1
500-1
500-1
1000-1
1000-1
40-1



ODDS TO WIN ACC CHAMPIONSHIP GAME

Miami (FL)
Florida State
Virginia Tech
Clemson
Georgia Tech
Boston College
Maryland
Virginia
North Carolina State
North Carolina
Wake Forest
Duke
2-1
2-1
3-1
7-1
15-1
15-1
15-1
30-1
30-1
30-1
50-1
500-1



ODDS TO WIN BIG 12 CHAMPIONSHIP GAME

Texas
Oklahoma
Nebraska
Texas Tech
Colorado
Iowa State
Texas A&M
Kansas State
Missouri
Kansas
Baylor
Oklahoma State
7-5
9-5
9-2
12-1
14-1
15-1
15-1
30-1
30-1
35-1
100-1
100-1



ODDS TO WIN SEC CHAMPIONSHIP GAME

Auburn
Florida
LSU
Georgia
Tennessee
Arkansas
Alabama
Mississippi
South Carolina
Mississippi State
Kentucky
Vanderbilt
5-2
11-4
4-1
6-1
7-1
7-1
9-1
20-1
28-1
75-1
100-1
300-1

For complete NCAA football odds please visit Mysportsbook.com.